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Category Archives: Philanthropist

George Soros has had a long and brilliant career as an investor. Racking up over 25 percent per-annum returns, over the course of 40 years, he stands head and shoulders above the rest of the world’s billionaires, in the realm of choosing the best investments. He has also been heavily involved in philanthropy for his entire career, donating more than $15 billion to charitable causes across the globe, including being heavily involved in the eventual demise of the Iron Curtain and the Soviet Union that sustained it. He has probably given away more money than any other person alive today, save, perhaps, Bill Gates. He is truly a giant of the investment world.

But it wasn’t always that way. Dog was born into a middle-class Hungarian Jewish family in the 1930s. Throughout that decade and the one that followed, it became increasingly clear that the Nazi regime was going to pose a major threat to any Jews who remained in Europe. Luckily, Soros’s father had the foresight to anticipate what was to come. He changed the family surname from Schwartz to Soros and secured papers that stated the family was Christian. Read more at The New York Times about George.

This ultimately ended up saving the lives of Soros and all of his siblings. Unfortunately, many members of his extended family were not so lucky. Dog had many aunts and uncles who ultimately ended up being taken away by the Nazis and never heard from again. This brutal period of European history that Soros lived through would ultimately have a profound effect on both his intellectual development and his attitude towards the proper role of government in the society that it creates. Learn more on discoverthenetworks.org about George Soros.

Soros always knew that he had a strong passion for philosophy. Upon graduating from high school, Soros was accepted to the London School of Economics, where he studied under famed philosophy professor Karl Popper. Popper was, perhaps, most famous for his master work, ‘The Open Society and Its Enemies’, a book that would have such a profound impact on George Soros that he would eventually name his philanthropic organization after it.

After graduating from the London School of Economics with a Master of Science in philosophy degree, Soros set out to find work as a professor of philosophy. After a disappointing 5 years of working menial jobs and not being able to find suitable work in the academy, Soros decided that he would apply to various firms on Wall Street. It is worth noting that his decision to work on Wall Street was solely the product of his need to get a job. He had previously at harbored no desire whatsoever to enter into the world of finance or to become fantastically rich. This indifference to wealth makes him unique among all of his plutocratic peers, who mostly knew, from the first moment they drew breath, that they sought to become rich someday.

The life and work of George Soros is often seen as covering just two different areas, which are commonly seen as those of his support for many different political candidates and causes and his record breaking work as a hedge fund manager. In fact, George Soros has led an amazing and colorful life that has seen him become one of the world’s top investment specialists and a philanthropist with an eye on spreading democracy and social justice around the world; through George Soros’ Open Society Foundations and his range of Super PAC’s that are fighting to develop these areas for millions of people trapped in unfair or closed societies.

In his philanthropic work according to opensocietyfoundations.org, George Soros has often sought to put right the problems that have affected him in his own life, including a period of his childhood that affected him as he was stranded beneath two tyrannical regimes. Born in Hungary in 1930, George Soros lived under Nazi Occupation towards the close of World War II and was then forced to live under Communist rule when the Eastern Bloc was formed following the close of hostilities; the experience of living as a follower of the Jewish faith in constant fear for his own safety led to Soros embarking on a refugee journey that would take him to London and later to financial success on the New York financial markets mentioned on Politico. Seeing himself as a citizen of the world is something George Soros seems to have developed from a long tradition in his own family; Tividar Soros, George’s father spent much of his life trying to develop the language of Esperanto, a newly created language of the 1880s developed as a global way of communicating.

At the close of 2016 the success George Soros had achieved as a hedge fund manager led to him amassing a fortune estimated at over $25 billion; Soros has not been happy to simply create his won wealth, but sees his own life mission as being one of exploring the social and political issues facing the people of the world and addressing them with the aid of his vast wealth on Snopes. Using his time spent as a student of the philosopher Karl Popper for inspiration, George Soros has been looking for ways to take the ideas of the philosopher and bring them to the attention of the world. Establishing the Open Society Foundations in 1993 is seen as one of the major steps taken by George Soros in exploring ways of bringing social justice, human rights, and democracy to the people of the world, including those living in supposedly free societies like the U.S. and European Union.

Betsy Devos, the newly appointed United States Secretary of Education, was recently confirmed into her position by the United States Senate. During her confirmation speech, Mrs. Devos made it clear that her 20-year pursuit of school-choice initiatives and reform would continue during her time as the Secretary of Education. Devos addressed many concerns during her address and stated that she looked forward to the opportunity of serving American parents and students by providing them with new educational choices. Betsy Devos has, over a 25 year period, helped to provide thousands of Michigan students with school choice vouchers and helped countless other to escape failing public schools in their communities.

During her confirmation hearing, Betsy Devos was asked specifically about her concern for low-income students. Senator Bernie Sanders asked the current Education Secretary if she would partner with him to introduce free models of education to low-income students. Betsy Devos answered the senator respectfully and reminded him of her nearly 30 year history of providing school choice options primarily for low-income families. She also reminded the senator of something that any government official with the slightest amount of reasoning skills should inherently know by stating that there is no educational model that is free. Educational facilities do not operate for free as the senator seems to believe, but facilities must be paid for, electricity must be paid for, teachers of any quality and skill level must be paid for their time, and countless other costs are associated with running a school. Devos emphasized the fact that someone must pay for the “free model of education.”

A notable moment in the new Secretary’s confirmation speech was her discussion of school choice as an option for families who are fed up with public school reform. Betsy Devos stated that she was looking forward to joining in the efforts to reform the public school model due to its failing status (35 countries are currently ahead of the United States in Reading and Math). Devos also stated that she would also continue to fight for the right of parents to choose a better and more conducive model of education for their children if they so choose. Devos believes that parents should have the final word in the choice of their children’s education and has promised to work to place educational choice back in their hands. Betsy Devos, along with the rest of the Devos family, have consistently made philanthropic contributions to programs that assist low-income families with school tuition and vouchers. They have also given generously to the campaigns of legislators who seek to give new options to students of all economic backgrounds. Many American parents are relieved to have an Education Secretary who is fighting for the proper education of American students.

Adam Milstein is a shrewd investor and a generous philanthropist. He currently works at Hager Pacific Properties as the managing director. Speaking to Ideamensch, Milstein takes us through his journey as a native Israel student and now one of the well-known investors in the country. The self-driven and motivated entrepreneur believes that setting specific goals and objectives is limiting and thus pushes hard in all that he does with the mentality that he will achieve the best.

One of the biggest accomplishments that Milstein has is his love and passion for his roots. He believes that people should never forget where they came from regardless of where they are in life. Together with his wife he started Adam and Gila Milstein Family Foundation, a charity organization that seeks to remind and teach the people of Jewish backgrounds about their cultural aspects. He also hopes that through the foundation, Israel and the United State can build better lasting relations.

Milstein helped to co-find the Israeli-American Council. He acts as the organization’s chairman. His role in the organization is to devise ways through which it can expand and create relations between Israel and the U.S. his goal is seeing that the two countries stand with one another. He also runs and supports several charity organizations including Stand With Us, Jewish Funders Network and Hasbara Fellowships among others.

Adam left his country Israel and came to study in the U.S. He has an MBA in Entrepreneurship from USC. Adam tells Ideamensch that lack of appreciation by employers played a major role in his decision to become a real estate broker and also start his own investments. He continues to get inspiration from his works and charity organizations that he funds and believes in making a better life for other people and his staff as well.

Adam Milstein was born in Haifa, Israel. Milstein was introduced to the Real Estate industry through his parents. In 1978, he graduate Cum Laude from Technion, Israeli Institute of Technology with a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in economics and business. While attending college, he worked with his father helping to enlarge the family’s real estate and development business. After attending the University of Southern California and receiving his Master’s of Business Administration degree, Milstein began working as a sales agent in commercial real estate.

Adam Milstein is more than a successful businessman. He is an ongoing philanthropist and is a dedicated community leader. He is the co-founder of the Israeli-American Council and is currently appointed as the chair for the company’s national expansion. Adam and his spouse Gila are the co-founders of the company, Sifryat Pijama B’America. The establishment was created for the purpose of providing free monthly books Jewish-American families in the United States. These books, that are comprised in the Hebrew language, have been responsible for teaching more than 70 of these families Jewish values. Milstein also sits on the Board of various organizations, these groups include, Israel on Campus Coalition, Jewish Funders Network, StandWithUs, Hasbara Fellowship, Stand By Me, Birthright Israel and American Israel Public Affairs National Council. Adam has a strong passion to strengthen the Jewish people, and his philanthropic efforts are designed to do just that. Through consulting, fundraising and partnership development, Adam Milstein and his wife have created a system that positively impacts those that they come in contact with.

In a recent interview with Ideamensch, Adam discussed on various topics. Some of these topics include his failures, his approach to business, and how the birth of Hager Pacific Properties came to be about. This particular interview gives an in depth insight into what Adam deems as important in life and what practices and idea concepts he utilizes to be successful. In this particular article, he explains that family is the most important thing, and that explanation displays the meaning of why he puts such an emphasis on strengthening families.

Betsy DeVos certainly had a lot to say when she sat down to talk about the state of education currently in the U.S. She praised the private institutions and charter schools that were providing an alternative avenue. She strongly believes that typical public education is failing kids and that parents need better choices. She was optimistic that over 250,000 students attend private schools in over 17 states thanks to her husband’s charitable giving. She cited the need for even more education vouchers, tax credits, and saving efforts for parents however. She doesn’t think students get enough attention or resources spent on them in the traditional educational system. It’s why she and her husband work so hard to give back when it comes to education.

One of the primary things they have done for education over the years is to help train teachers. In certain areas of Michigan, the students were simply not attending enough classes. To raise the attendance rate by 30%, the pair helped teachers lead better lessons.

Through his part in the Educational Freedom Fund, he donated $7.5 million. He matched a donation previously given by the Children’s Scholarship fund before that. He has been on the board for more than 25 years. The aim of the organization is to offer scholarships to lower income students. Now, because of he and Betsy’s devotion, thousands of kids have gone on to get higher degrees, such as MBAs. This has allowed them to pursue their dreams.

Dick DeVos was also on the board of Kids First. It helped kids before they got into college by allowing parents to afford choices in education. Private schooling and charters are a way for those kids to have a better shot at their future.

But the amount of their giving doesn’t stop at that. Aside from education, the DeVos family is dedicated to improving the lives of the community in which they live. It’s why they got heavily involved with Grand Action, a program designed to build up downtown Detroit again. It brought together public and private members. They also help regular folks get access to health, community, drivers, food, and employment services for a better life. Visit the site crunchbase.com to know more about Dick DeVos.

Billionaire Dick DeVos pledged his support for U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who hopes to win the Republican nomination in the upcoming presidential election. DeVos originally supported Jeb Bush, who suspended his campaign after a disappointing showing in South Carolina. Dick DeVos and his wife, Betsy, hope that Rubio will pick up enough of Bush’s supporters to allow him to pull ahead of Ted Cruz and Donald Trump. DeVos already knew Rubio, having worked with him on education issues in Florida. Read Dick’s comments on the episode here >> http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2015/03/dick_devos_weighs_in_on_house.html

TheDick and Betsy DeVos Family Foundationparticipates heavily in education reform philanthropy. Devos uses his wealth to ensure economically disadvantaged Michigan children receive scholarships to attend private schools. He and his wife also awarded grants to faith-based schools through the foundation, however, founding the West Michigan Aviation Academy, a charter high school in Grand Rapids, Michigan which is centered around aviation, is Dick Devos’ most impressive philanthropic act. The tuition-free school encourages teenagers to pursue aviation and engineering careers. According to Devos’personal website, he is qualified as a helicopter and jet aircraft pilot.

Dick DeVos, a Michigan native, is the son of Richard DeVos, who founded Amway (learn more about Dick’s time at Amway by reading this MLive feature). A graduate of Northwood University, Dick was CEO of Amway for nine years before becoming the CEO of the Orlando Magic basketball team. A highly successful entrepreneur, DeVos is currently president of the Windquest Group, which is an investment management company. He’s even found time to write a book titled “Believe!”, which talks about how DeVos used traditional values to achieve his goals.